A classic VPN solves the problem of a private connection between a user and the internet. But the next step — is privacy not only of the channel, but of the computations themselves. The Cocoon project, announced by Pavel Durov, promises a network of distributed computing power focused on encryption, a lack of a single centre, and integration with the TON ecosystem. In other words, this is not “just another VPN,” but an overlay where confidentiality becomes a property of the entire infrastructure.
1. What has been announced
Cocoon is presented as a decentralised network for confidential computing. Owners of GPU equipment will be able to contribute capacity to the network, and developers — to run tasks and services over the distributed infrastructure. Data and results should be protected cryptographically, and governance — carried out through open protocols and token economics.
2. How it is designed to work in principle
- Distributed nodes: computing is not concentrated at a single provider, but “spread out” across many participants.
- Cryptographic protection: encryption and verifiability of results reduce risk of leaks and manipulation.
- Participation economics: equipment owners receive rewards, developers — a flexible price for resources.
- Integration with TON: calculations, accounting and access — via familiar Web3 mechanics and wallets.
3. How Cocoon differs from VPN — and how it complements it
A VPN encrypts traffic and hides the connection route. Cocoon aims to encrypt the computations themselves and the data with which those computations are carried out. Instead of the model “client — VPN — internet” there appears a layer where request processing, AI-model work, media conversion, analytics and other operations execute in a distributed environment, without exposing contents to any single node operator.
4. Linkage to VPN: practical scenarios
- Private AI-queries: the user connects via a VPN provider, and prompt/response computation happens in Cocoon without the hoster learning the data.
- Secure media-compression and transcoding: video/audio processing en route to the user — without access to the source by a centralised cloud.
- “Zero-logs” as an architectural principle: the VPN provider does not retain traffic content, and delegates computations into a network where node operators are cryptographically limited in visibility.
- Geo-distributed tasks: selecting nodes closer to the audience to reduce latency, not just selecting VPN location.
5. Why this matters for users and the VPN market
VPN has long ceased to be only “about IP”. The market is shifting toward comprehensive privacy: from route protection — to protecting data and models. If Cocoon fulfils its promises, VPN services may gain a new class of products: “private computing as a service” on top of the familiar tunnel. It is a direct answer to the trends of exhaustive analytics in clouds and data-leaks when using centralised AI-platforms.
6. Risks and open questions
- Trust and verification: how exactly are correctness of node computations and the impossibility of leaks verified?
- Performance and latency: distributed infrastructure is useful for privacy, but challenging for real-time scenarios.
- Moderation and legality: who and how addresses abuse in a decentralised network?
- Token economics: how sustainable is the reward/resource-demand model?
7. What this means “here and now”
VPN remains an essential base for private access. But the horizons are shifting: privacy needs to accompany not only the data packet, but every operation on it. Cocoon is one of the first attempts to make this a mass product, understandable to both the user and the provider.
